ABSTRACT
"Neoliberalism" is used in applied linguistics and sociolinguistics both too little and at moments too extensively. This chapter begins with an overview of the history of the rise of neoliberal thought, various theories of neoliberalism, and the unevenness of neoliberalism in various contexts. It considers what is distinctive about linguistic issues in the context of migration in the current moment, drawing on two detailed case studies of neoliberalism, language, and migration to exemplify the application of some of the theoretical insights and debates as a model. Theoretical debates about neoliberalism within sociolinguistics and applied linguistics are sometimes debates between scholars adhering to different perspectives. There are at least three key clusters of debates in studies of language and neoliberalism, on the themes of legitimation, materiality, and value. Recent scholarship on labour and personhood has also started to examine how modes of neoliberal government and neoliberalized economies reproduce particular forms of affect.
